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Blog > Week Thirteen: Arendt
Week Thirteen: Arendt
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By Lee Trepanier, April 5, 2012 in Pedagogy and Teaching

This week we read excerpts of Arendt's Origins of Totalitarianism. What surprises me is how little historical knowledge students possess, which makes it more difficult to discuss Arednt's work. Not all political philosophy texts require historical knowledge, but Origins of Totalitarianism certainly does. I usually solve this problem by giving a brief historical account of the events, but I am certainly open to suggestions to others if they have better ideas to address this problem.

 

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Lee Trepanier
Lee Trepanier

I am an Associate Professor of Political Science at Saginaw Valley State University. I teach courses in political philosophy as well as the Introduction to Political Science course. I received my B.A. in Political Science and English Literature with a Minor in Russian Studies at Marquette University and my M.A. and Ph.D. in Political Science at Louisiana State University. My research interests are in Russian politics; politics and religion; politics, literature, and film; and political philosophy with a focus on the works of Eric Voegelin.